Cryptography is duly involved with the writing mechanisms
and since its birth it has always been the object of intensive
scholar studies and researches. As afore seen its beginning
landmarks started in Renaissance and since then many were
the names who contributes so much for its advancements. Among
them are:
- Blaise de Vigenère,
is considered as one of the fathers' of modern cryptography.
He was born in April 5, 1523, in Saint-Pourçain, France.
Diplomat and cryptologist, he wrote many books. In 1585 he
published the book: Traicte de Chiffres.
In which the author described an auto cipher system.
- Charles Wheatstone, was a
British scientist and inventor of many scientificals breakthroughs
among them encryption techniques known as Playfair cypher
commoly used up the WWI.
- Claude Elwood Shannon, American
mathematician and eletrical engineer. He has been called as
the father of information theory and a pioneer in the desing
theory of digital circuit. In 1948 he published an essay entitled:
"A Mathematical Theory of Communication" focusing
on best on the best way to encode information.
- Frederick Marryat, British
naval officer. In 1817 he invented a code, which transmitted
the messages using color flags, and he called it as semaphore.
- Friedrich Wilhelm Kasiski,
was a Prussian infantry officer.In 1863 he published a book
entitled: Die Geheimschriften und die Dechiffrierkuns - Secret
writing and the Art of Deciphering '-.This is was the first
paper published related with messages decoding using the polialphabet
substitution cyphers principle, mainly the one invented by
Vigenère. Since then Kasiski is considered as a pioneer
of modern cryptanalysis.
- Giovanni Battista Porta, or
Giambattista Della Porta, Neapolitan
mathematician; in 1565 he published a book entitled: De Furtivis
Literarum Notis. It describes a ciphering substitution system
that enable one letter of the plain text to be written in
any one of the eleven different ways.
- Girolamo Cardano, Italian
physician and mathematician;In 1556 he invented a revolutionary
ciphering device know as Cardano grill. Basically the device
consists in a template provide with several holes. The holes
are ramdomly ordered and corespond to the number of letters
in the message to be encrypted. To send the message, the gril
is placed over a piece of paper and the letters of the message
are written through the holes of the grill in the same order
in which the holes are numbered. For deciphering the message
merely place an identical grill over the text and reading
the letters revelead through the holes.
- Herbert Osborne Yardley, American
cryptologist. In 1931 he published the book: "The American
Black Chamber". It describes the organization of the
American cryptanalysis department, which was responsible for
the deciphering of the Japanese diplomatic code whereas supplied
vital information for the American negotiators during the
Washington Naval Conference in 1921.
- Johannes Trithemius, was a
Benedictine monk who live in Germany. In 1518 he published
the first book on cryptography named Poligraphia dealing with
simple substitution cypher.
The original book Poligrafia.
Courtesy: National Security Agency - USA
- Leon Battista Alberti,Italian
architec, phylosopher and cryptologyst. He was born in Genoa
1404. He invented the first polialphabetic cypher system,
nowadays known as the Alberti's cypher as well as the machine-assisted
encryption using his cipher disc.
- Samuel F.B. Morse, American;
in 1838 he invented the electromagnetic telegraph and the
Morse code; a susbtitution ciphering system with dots and
dashes replacing the letters.
The code invented by Samuel Morse showing the alphabet transcription
in dash and dot and the correspondent phonetic equivalents.
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